Ernst Happel Stadion

Ernst Happel Stadion, initially called Prater Stadion, got built between 1929 and 1931. A new large omni-sports stadium had been a longstanding wish of the city of Vienna.

Building work on the ground took 23 months, and it was formally inaugurated on 11 June 1931 with the Workers Olympiad. The ground consisted of two bowl-shaped tiers that could hold about 60,000 spectators.

Although, with the increasing popularity of football after the war, the Prater Stadion was soon in need of enlargement. In 1956 as a result a third tier was added to bring capacity to 91,150.

Several years later, in 1960, a record attendance of 90,726 was set during an international between the Austrian and USSR national sides.

By the 1980s, several standing areas had already been converted into seats, hereby reducing capacity to just over 70,000, when in 1984 a grand major renovation was announced. The works included the Building work on a roof and the conversion of the ground into an all-seater. Capacity was further reduced to under 60,000.

In 1993, the name of the ground was changed to Ernst Happel Stadion in honour of the legendary Austrian player and manager.

Ernst Happel Stadion was further refurbished for the Euro 2008 tournament, which included the placement of temporary bleachers in front of the permanent stands. Throughout the tournament, it staged three group matches, a quarter-final, a semi-final, and the final between Spain and Germany (1-0).

Over the years, the ground staged four Champions League and European cup finals, starting in 1964 with the final between Internazionale and Real Madrid (3-1), followed by Porto versus FC Bayern (2-1) in 1987, AC Milan versus Benfica (1-0) in 1990, and Ajax versus AC Milan (1-0) in 1995.

Ernst Happel Stadion in addition was the venue for the 1970 Cup Winners' cup final between Manchester City and Gornik Zabrze (2-1).

Between 2014 and 2016 the ground was the home of Rapid Wien while they built the new Allianz Stadion in place of their old Gerhard Hanappi Stadion. In 2016, it was the turn of Austria Wien to move into the ground when they started works on rebuilding their Generali-Arena, which will be finished in 2018.

Over the years, Ernst Happel Stadion has significantly aged, and the Austrian FA has as a result expressed the desire to build a new national stadium. Although, at the moment there seems little appetite from the city to build an expensive new arena that would only get used a few times per year.

(images of the current Ernst Happel Stadion below)

Ernst Happel Stadion is situated about 3.5 kilometres east of Vienna's inner city on the edge of the Prater Park close to the Danube river. Vienna's renowned ferris wheel, also in the Prater Park, lies about 2.5 kilometres north-west of the ground.

The ground can be without difficulty reached with metro line 2. Station Stadion lies right next to the ground. Line 2 runs along the northern and western edge of Vienna's downtown area.

Address: Meiereistraße 7, 1020 Wien

Ernst Happel Stadion is squeezed in between the Prater Park and Danube river, mixed up with some other sports facilities, the city's conference centre, some retail, and some residential buildings.

Right across the road from the ground is the Stadion Center shopping mall, which also offers some food outlets, but generally the options for dining and drinks are rather limited and it is better done in the inner city and surroundings. The Prater Park is very nice though on a summer's day, and the fair with the renowned ferris wheel is also (just) at a short walk.

Due to the vicinity of the conference centre, visitors will find a decent amount of hotels near Ernst Happel Stadion. The Hilton Vienna Danube and Courtyard by Marriott Wien Messe are only a few minutes on footing from the ground, but obviously come at a price. The Austria Trend Hotel Messe is somewhat more affordable.

Instead, you could also strategically choose your hotel at a location between the ground and the inner city, so that both are at a short walk. The Suite Hotel 200m zum Prater is on the other side of the park toward the centre. Hotel Urania, Hotel Adlon, and Hotel Cristall lie close to the fair and are reasonably priced. There are also various apartment rental options in the area.

Use the linked guides To browse hotels near Ernst Happel Stadion. If you wish to stay in Vienna's inner city instead, then here are some options.

Admission for matches of the Austrian national side go through the OEFB Austrian football association.